A hearing device may enable or enhance hearing by a user wearing the hearing device by providing audio content received by the hearing device to the user. For example, a hearing aid may provide an amplified version of the audio content to the user to enhance hearing by the user. As another example, a sound processor included in a cochlear implant system may provide electrical stimulation representative of the audio content to the user to enable hearing by the user.
To provide audio content to a user, a hearing device may selectively operate in accordance with different sound processing programs that each specify various parameters for processing audio content. Each of the sound processing programs may be optimized for a different type of audio content, such as music, speech, etc. In this manner, the user of the hearing device may select a sound processing program for the hearing device that is best suited for the particular type of audio content that the user desires to hear.
Unfortunately, a user may not always know which sound processing program is most appropriate for a particular environment or situation. Even if the hearing device is configured to automatically switch (e.g., without user input) to a particular sound processing program based on detected environmental cues, it is currently difficult or impossible for a conventional hearing device to ascertain a listening intention of the user and thereby select an appropriate sound processing program. For example, if the audio content includes both music and speech, a conventional hearing device cannot determine whether the user is more focused on the music than the speech or vice versa. Hence, a conventional hearing device may not always select the appropriate sound processing program for the user.